To resent parents who are still sending their kids to school on Monday

[letmeinthroughyourwindow]

Not the genuine cases, obviously.

But I'm a teacher and we will be opening for the duration because 40% of our pupils have at least one parent who is a keyworker.

Before the list was released, the government told us to expect 10% and we planned accordingly. In fact, we planned for 20%.

When the list was released, it was so broad that far more parents than we ever expected fell into one of the categories.

Now, if your need is genuine then of course I want to care for your child. I'm happy to do it, and proud that doing so keeps you working.

But we have so many parents who are allowed to send their child to school, but shouldn't be, that it's infuriating me.

If you are a keyworker but your partner is a stay-at-home parent should you be sending them in?

If you are a keyworker but your partner works from home or is allowed to work from home indefinitely, should you be sending them in?

My sister's employer is allowing all employees who are parents to work from home on full pay, but many are saying that they don't need to, because their partner is a keyworker so their kids can still go to school

Just because you can send them, doesn't mean you should. It shouldn't be the best or easiest option for you, it should be a last resort if there is nowhere else to keep them safe.

The number one, most critical piece of advice for keyworker parents is, 'if it is at all possible for children to be kept at home then they should be.'

Please don't think I'm lazy and cba babysitting these children. I cried when my class went home yesterday, and care about every child in school. If I am in work full time anyway, then it really doesn't matter how many children are in the classroom.

But so many people don't understand social distancing. They are walking around like they are immortal, or only thinking that they themselves will probably be ok if they get it. For social distancing to have the desired effect, then everyone who can be at home, should be. If there was a chance of your child dying from this, would you send them to school? Well then think about who might die because they came into contact with your child.

And all of this brought on by a friend who called me last night to say that she is thrilled to be able to send her child to school on Monday because she is a deliveroo driver, even though her unemployed bf will be home all day on the PlayStation.

todayisnottuesday you just need to say "OK Im wrong" and stop digging yourself a deeper hole.
There is literally nothing that can justify sending a child into school unless totally, utterly unavoidable and anyone who does is a tw*t.
My child is disabled and could have a place, there is no way I would send her. I will keep her at home safe even if it breaks me.

I think what this really highlights is how badly our vulnerable children are let down, actually.

I know teens where school does basically take on a parenting role. There are kids where the head of year buys and washes their school uniform for them each year, and they wash home clothes at school as well. School provides 2 meals per day + snacks.

But social workers seem really resistant to removing children once they reach secondary school age, even when their home lives are absolutely awful.

And if it hits crisis point when they are 15, they will still do everything to delay until the child is 16 so they don't have to remove.

I'm sure not all social workers are like this, but I do know of cases where this has happened to children.

And it works at the moment because schools pick up the pieces- but child social care needs to be funded properly too, because ultimately schools aren't really suitable to be a child's only support system.

@BelleSausage what a brilliant way of explaining it!

They then decide to ignore all the eligible parents saying they have made alternative arrangement, but come to the conclusion there are so many 'piss takers' that the virus will spread and schools will have to close completely.

This is what the general public do to us all the time. Ignore all the hard-working teachers (the overwhelming majority of us) and declare that we're all over-paid, lazy, moaning so-and-sos with too much holiday.

When we do try to make our voices heard, we're accused of just proving people right by moaning.

FFS, we even get people who don't even read the whole thread wading in and saying how lazy we are.

The whole point of schools "closing" is to reduce transmission of this disease. It is emergency childcare for those parents where there is absolutely no other option.

You know what? Despite whichever kids turn up on Monday, us teachers will still be there, prepared to care. We'll give up our holiday and go in for free because that's just what needs to happen.

I fully expect zero recognition from the public for this and that's fine. I fully expect, if schools do get more strict about pupils or if schools have to close, parents instantly jumping on these boards starting threads about how lazy we are and how we think we're "special". Because they choose to ignore all the positive we do.

Thank goodness the vast majority of teachers don't treat your children the way you do us. Think about that while we look after your kids in the coming weeks.

"At a time people should be helping, they're judging. Productive."

Judging people for being idiots who are prolonging social distancing and increasing the risk to all of us? Yes, of course.

I don’t want to upset anyone that doesn’t have a choice but lots of children will be going into schools on Monday with staff who are ALREADY carrying coronavirus, having mixed with staff this last week who are now off with CV symptoms. This is in both primary and secondary.

I don’t think schools are telling parents about staff who were sent home ill last week. I don’t even think they are telling STAFF the reason why their colleagues are not in.

I think this coming week will see a huge explosion in unconfirmed cases (as no testing unless hospitalised), and many of them will have been acquired and passed on in schools last week and the week before.

I’m not sure people are aware of this otherwise you wouldn’t get idiots sending their kids in so they can work from home in peace.

My worry is not so much that teaching staff are atvrisk from NHS workers’ children (teachers are already welll aware that schools are germ fests and it’s a hazard of The job, especially in large schools) but that children are heading in to mix with staff and be other kids probably already infected.

I wish we could keep all children safe at home, I really do. Society needs to change after this so that this can be made possible.

The following helped me understand so thought I’d share.... This is from an immunologist at Johns Hopkins University
Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand...
It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.
Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.
Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.
Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..
H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.
Fast forward.
Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”
This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..
That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is slippery. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.
We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.
Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passed...(honestly...I understand him so much better now). Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolation...
And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.
Be smart folks... acting like you’re unafraid is not so tough. If you are young, be afraid you might pass it on to your grandparents, Aunts and Uncles or an older person you admire. You may not get sick, but it could be deadly for them.
#flattenthecurve. Stay home folks... and share this to those that just are not catching on.

ASN school we are apparently open for all on Monday. Parents were phoning transport on a Friday saying my child will be in, demanding schools stay open as their child needs routine. Even if they do come in there’s no routine we barely have enough staff to keep them safe. One colleague has a unwell Mum and she’s terrified as if she takes it home her Mum will die. Nearly all our parents have at least one stay at home parent. I do sympathise at the end of the school I’m knackered and glad I can hand them over I cannot imagine what’s it’s like all the time. But I wish they would think of the bigger picture their children’s health and other people’s.

It seems that people (like Tuesday) have lost sight of the fact that this is about fighting a global pandemic (which has claimed almost 5000 lives in Italy to date, for context).

Ideally no one should be in school. But it’s obviously preferable for front line NHS staff to be freed up to do their jobs. The more ‘exceptions’ to the rule, the slower the process of halting this disease will be, if school attendance gets to a certain level it will be useless. It’s immensely selfish not to do your bit.

The best thing we can do for vulnerable children is get a handle on this as soon as possible. That means taking social distancing seriously.

Vulnerable has become a little meaningless and patronising, hasn’t it?

A vulnerable child is helped very minimally by coming into an empty school.

"Clearly I do if some teachers think they are a special group in this whole scenario. There are lots of essential workers on much less pay who are not fucking moaning about it, that's all I know."

Please don't think that. Please. I don't know a single teacher who minds being in school. We absolutely want to be there, supporting vulnerable families and helping keyworkers to continue working.

It doesn't matter to me whether I've got 5 or 50 to look after if I'm going in anyway. But if we've got 40% of the cohort in then social distancing won't work. Schools will collapse and then this argument will be a moot point.

We just want it to fucking work, that's all.

Yes and we don’t want to put kids at risk by welcoming all open arms. It is a fucking LAST RESORT. People need to get that in their heads.

@59SallyLovesCheese thank you for the insight, but it's so scary I am back to wishing it was just a nightmare.

Teachers on here - I'm sure the majority see the good you have done and value you now. When this really hits and everything is closed, know that you have respect. Thank you!

Clearly I do if some teachers think they are a special group in this whole scenario. There are lots of essential workers on much less pay who are not fucking moaning about it, that's all I know.

Yes, everyone knows teachers are not allowed to say anything negative in relation to their job, because that's just fucking moaning.

Never mind we're reminding those parents who've conveniently forgotten that this emergency childcare is only if there is absolutely NO ALTERNATIVE.

Are all those healthcare professionals holding up signs on social media saying 'Please stay at home so I can stay at work' just "fucking moaning"?

Thank you Enough4Me. It is awful to see the complacency, and to be told that you're moaning or judging when you call attention to it.

I cried this afternoon, because our town was so busy, and the playground was packed, and there was a group of teens hanging out at the skatepark. I text a friend about it and she said 'oh you can't expect kids to stay in on a nice day like this.' I despair. Some people won't inconvenience themselves until there's a soldier insisting on it. I never thought people wouldn't comply in such a serious situation.

@Enough4me - I'm just scared all the time. It is scary.

Thank you for being so positive with us!

I totally agree. We're both key workers (I'm a teacher) and I desperately don't want my children to go to school. It terrifies me. I'm hoping that numbers on Monday will be low enough for my school to run a rota so that I only need do some hours and can juggle it with dh. We're planning on him working Saturday and Sunday so that our kids can be at home.

I have no idea why you'd want to do anything else. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to keep my children away from others right now.

@letmeinthroughyourwindow

I think a lot of people just don't get how bad this is going to be- and they can't be told, because they think it's "fearmongering" and "this is just like the flu".

I started getting worried when the cases in Italy spiked after half term, and I predicted schools would close on Friday then. But I have a background in biology and understand the science. And even then, I was downplaying it to the kids I teach as I didn't want to cause panic.

I was talking to my Y11s about flattening the curve on Tuesday, and saying how if we flatten it enough, we will have enough ICU beds for everyone. I don't believe this is true, but I didn't know what else to say with them.

I do think kids mixing in smaller groups is still better than being in school- but at some point we will need to enforce a proper lockdown.

I agree. But how shameful that we need a lockdown to comply with life-saving advice.
And what will keyworkers and vulnerable children do then? They will lose schools as childcare because of idiots who are abusing the fact that their sector was on the list.

Again, just because you can send them doesn't mean you should. Keep them safe at home if you possibly can, and keep everyone else safer by doing so. Let schools concentrate on the families with no other options.

Time for a new thread?

Are we gluttons for punishment?

I think it's all been said.

Some people are taking social distancing seriously and some people are paying it lip service because they don't want to do anything that's personally inconvenient; you probably already know in your heart which camp you belong to.

I guess we'll know soon enough whether it has worked, or not.

And thank you to all the keyworkers out there who are going to work today, tomorrow and every day to keep things running.

So disappointing to see so many parents reluctant to parent their own children in times of crisis.

Thanks to all the teachers looking after the children of key workers in the NHS.

Shame on parents sending DCs in when it isn't absolutely essential, you piss takers are a big part of the problem.

"I think what this really highlights is how badly our vulnerable children are let down, actually."

That applies to the vulnerable because of severe disability too. Parents have been refused the training that would enable them to safely manage their child's behaviour at home and they are now very scared of how they are going to manage. It could easily have been avoided.